Shadows of the Soul: A P3P Novelization
by Frosty Princess Katie
Summary: novelization for Persona 3 Portable. Minako Arisato (MShe) has had a stroke of good fortune. She's received a full time scholarship to attend the prestigious Gekkoukan High. When she arrives, however she's made aware of an ability that she possess that turns her world upside down. Now together with her new friends she must save the world while trying to keep up with her grades.
1. Prolouge

_Time never waits, It delivers all equally to the same end…._

_To you who wish to safeguard the future, however limited you may be…._

_Go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide…._

_To you I grant, one year…_

Prologue

If Yukari Takeba was anything, she was a sensible girl. As sensible as a seventeen year old teenager shipped off to boarding school could be. Sure she wasn't a genius student, but she did receive fairly decent grades most of the time, and her involvement in extracurricular activities was solid since her freshman year. Plus, as an added perk she was considered by most in her class as popular, likeable and friendly, though she didn't believe most of it. If there was anything a sensible girl like Yukari could want, it was a fresh start with a new semester. This, unfortunately was not going to be possible.

Yukari slammed the door to her new dorm room in frustration as she threw her shoulder bag on her unkempt bed. She shielded her eyes from the blazing sunset through her window as she gazed around the room. This place was foreign to her, it was not the place she was supposed to be. Just one week ago she had arrived from her suburban home to center city Iwatodi for her sophomore year of school at the prestigious Gekkoukan High, a place reserved for those who had intelligence, talent, and those who had large pockets to pay the hefty tuition. Yukari had never really had any large sum of money, however due to her late father's work with a company associated with the school; Yukari had received an invitation to attend Gekkoukan on full scholarship.

This was to be her second year at the prestigious boarding school, and she was planning on an academic year filled with top grades, archery club, and hanging out with her friends from her freshman class. Unfortunately, due to a strange turn of events and a bad string of luck Yukari was not permitted to move back into her old dorm room and was forced to take residence in a secluded dorm hall with two other students, both upper classmen. Filled with resentment, Yukari still hadn't unpacked any of her things.

Her eyes scanned the room slowly taking in the barren walls and piles of boxes jammed in the corners. She slowly made her rounds around the room, silently cursing to herself for her luck and found herself gazing at a silver briefcase sitting at the foot of her bed. She should have been excited that classes were going to start tomorrow, where she would be able to catch up with her classmates and attend the archery club meeting, however she couldn't take her mind off that briefcase.

"This is completely insane" she whispered to herself as she ran her fingers over the smooth metal of the case. "Do they take me as a fool…there is no way that I could…" but she trailed off, her mind working to make sense of the past few days.

With a sudden look of determination she made her way over to the sink in the corner of her dorm and turned the water on full blast. Glancing over her shoulder she looked to see if anyone was watching and made her way back over to the metal briefcase. With a swift move she opened it to reveal a single gun glinting in the sunset. With trembling fingers she took it out of its velvet encasings and tested its weight in her hand. It was surprisingly light…for a gun. She held it up in her hand to get a better look at it but her knees were trembling so hard she sunk to the floor. Her breaths coming in short ragged gasps.

"Okay, Yukari, you just put it to your head…and pull the trigger" she whispered "no chickening out. You are not a chicken!"

She slowly raised it to her temple, her hands were quaking with fear and cold sweat had broken across her forehead. The room seemed so quiet despite the fact that she still had the faucet turned on to full blast letting water gush into the sink. "_The sound of the rushing water will cover the sound of me…pulling….shooting…." _ She thought to herself. Her heartbeat was roaring in her ears and her breaths continued to be low and shallow. She closed her eyes and before she could think of anything else she tossed the gun aside. It clattered loudly on the floor.

"It's no use…I can't" she cried as she wiped the tears forming in her eyes. "They are completely insane."

She crawled to her knees and pulled herself to the sink and immediately began to splash cold water on her face. She was unable to fathom why anyone could think she was capable of doing such an act. Memories of the past few days flooded her mind. With a sigh she walked over to her bed stepping over the gun sitting on the floor and groaned. She had a nagging feeling that this year was not going to be what she had anticipated; in fact it was most likely going to be anything but what she anticipated.

"Well, If this year is not going to be normal by default, then the best thing I can do is make it normal in every way possible" her eyes trialed over to the pile of boxes in the corner. "I guess that means by starting to unpack this." She forced the idea of the gun out of her mind and began to set to the dull task of transforming the barren room into her home for the next year.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Minako Arisato was stuck in that dream like place between consciousness and unconsciousness. The place where one goes when they are not quite awake, but not quite asleep either. Her slender form was curled in the seat she was assigned for the train ride into Iwatodi. Her head rested against the cool glass window as she drifted off to sleep. She would have arrived to dream land sooner or later when suddenly the sharp voice of the conductor cut through the awkward silence.

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We sincerely apologize to any who are in a rush. The next stop is Iwatodi Station."

Minako jolted awake and looked around as a wave of temporary confusion surrounded her. She glanced at the large group of brochures in the seat next to her and let out a sigh of relief. That's right; she was going to Iwatodi to attend Gekkoukan High school. Just last month she had received her acceptance letter into the prestigious high school and immediately felt compelled to accept and attend. She searched among the brochures pushing aside the train schedule, map of the city and directions to her new home. She pulled out a thick packet of info on the school she was going to attend. It was filled with glossy photos of manicured lawns, botanical gardens and practice fields. She had read the packet uncountable times since she had received it. Not only had she been accepted to Gekkoukan, she was offered a full scholarship for the remainder of her high school years.

"Attention passengers, we are now approaching Iwatodi. This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island, please take care to gather your things as you exit the train car. Again we apologize for any inconvenience the delay may have had on anyone."

Minako glanced at her watch and sighed. It was nearly midnight. Her train should have arrived nearly four hours ago. She shoved all the brochures into her carry bag and clenched the directions to her dorm room in her free hand. Once she stepped off the train she was hit with a shock of noise. The city was bustling even though it was the middle of the night. Billboards flashed bright colored ads and people dressed in suggestive attire ran down sidewalks brushing past her. She stopped at a mirror outside a boutique and grimaced. Her chestnut hair was falling out if its clip, and her uniform was wrinkled. Her face had exhaustion etched all over. With a quick stretch she put on her headphones and blasted music into her hears to drown out the city nightlife and concentrated on finding her dorm.

According to the directions, the place wasn't very far from the station, but Minako wasn't used to big cities like this and she frequently turned down the wrong streets. It was just when she was about to give up and flag down a local to ask where she should go when she found herself outside the very building she was supposed to arrive. And that's when it happened. The change was subtle at first, but enough for Minako to realize something was wrong. Her MP3 player had shut off automatically leaving her with a ringing silence. She looked at the device in concern and tapped a few buttons with no success. "_I just charged this thing…"_ Minako thought to herself. She glanced at her watch and noticed that the second hand was frozen in place at midnight exactly. "_What the…." _. And that is when she started to look at her surroundings.

It was almost as if the city itself had changed. The air was filled with a stale stench and the town was covered in a greenish haze. The only source of lighting was from the large full moon hovering above her head. Minako shivered unable to get over the eerie sight and thought it best to seek shelter in her dorm. She looked at the building before her. It was a simple apartment building in the middle of a street of row homes. The building towered over the other houses and cast an ominous shadow into the middle of the street.

Minako started up the stairs but hesitated. There wasn't a single light on inside that building "I wonder if they gave up on waiting for me to arrive" she whispered to no one in particular." She pulled the handle and surprisingly the door opened. "Wow, no security?" She stepped into a lobby like area and enjoyed the feeling of being enveloped in heat. Closing the door behind her she looked for the resident director who was supposed to meet her according to her pamphlet.

The room was completely empty. Minako surveyed the area to see a large check in desk on her left which was unoccupied and a common area on her right complete with a television, coffee table and comfy looking sofas and chairs. The place was completely deserted.

"Welcome," a soft voice called. "You're late…I've been waiting a long time for you"

Minako gasped and turned to see a young boy barely tall enough to see over the desk. "Hello, who are you?" she asked thinking that her welcoming party would be an adult, or a fellow high school student at least.

"That is not important" the boy said. "You must be exhausted. Let us speed up this process so that you may get some rest." He pulled out a single piece of paper and placed it on the desk. "This is a contract."

Minako hesitated looking at the boy curiously. He had pale skin and raven black hair. Oddly enough he was dressed in a pair of pajamas that looked like prison attire. Minako briefly thought that she had checked in at the wrong place and double checked the location.

"There is no need to be afraid" the boy said sensing her hesitation. "This contracted only binds you to accepting full responsibilities for your actions."

Minako raised an eyebrow in disbelief. _Seriously? How cryptic is that?_ Minako questioned to herself. "Well, I don't sign anything without reading it thoroughly" she replied.

The boy grinned. "I like your caution…that will be very necessary"

Minako flashed him a forced smile and read the lines of the contract in the dark haze of the room using the moon as her source of light. With a sigh she found nothing wrong with the contract, just that it was vague in a sense of what she was being held for. Gekkoukan High sure had a weird housing policy. She figured it was the schools way of holding students accountable for any stupid mistakes they may make while on their property, like underage drinking for example. Taking a pen lying haphazardly on the desk she signed her name with flourish and handed the paper back to the boy.

"Very well. This contract is a fate to which everyone is delivered the same fate. Minako Arisato, know this, your journey begins now and there will be no running away from it." The boy said with a grin.

Minako was about to ask the boy who he was and his affiliation with her new school when she heard a noise from deeper within the dorm. She faced what she could make out was a darkened hallway off the side of the common area. She couldn't see anything in the darkness but she could definitely tell that someone was there.

"Who's there?" a voice called, obviously female. "How on earth can you be….But it's….Wait don't tell me" the voice called out in panic so prevalent that she couldn't even finish her sentences.

A figure stepped into the common room from the darkened hallway. Minako strained her eyes to make out the form; a slender girl. Minako could barely make her features out in the dark but she could clearly see that in her hand she clenched something small and metal. Minako's heart skipped a beat when she saw the gun the girl was clutching. She was about to raise her hands in surrender when another voice cut through the darkness.

"Takeba wait!"

As if on cue, the lights in the lounge flickered back to life and Minako's headphones began to blast music loud enough that the two women standing opposite her in the room could hear. Awkwardly Minako fumbled for her MP3 player and shut it off leaving an eerie silence. With the lights on and the heater whirring to life in the background Minako took a deep breath and took a good look at her new dorm mates. The one holding the gun had golden brown shoulder length hair and honey colored eyes. She wore a Gekkoukan High uniform with a pink cardigan. The other was tall and elegant looking with curling locks of red hair tumbling carelessly down her back. She too wore a school uniform.

The redheaded woman was the first to speak. "I didn't think you'd get here so late. I just received the email from the chairman that your train was caught up. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo and I am one of the students that live here in this dorm."

Mitsuru's companion looked at her quizzically "who's she?"

Mitsuru smiled. "She's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign her here. Eventually we will have her moved to a room in the normal dorms."

Minako noticed a momentary look of disgust on the brown haired girl's face. "Is it okay for her to be here?" she questioned.

Mitsuru shrugged. "I guess we'll see…I'm not in charge of dorm assignments. That's the Chairman's thing." After a momentary pause Mitsuru added "Oh, this here is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you." Mitsuru shot Yukari a sharp look.

"Oh, hi, I'm Yukari. You are?"

"Minako Arisato. Hey do you mind if I ask you why you are carrying a gun?" Minako questioned still thoroughly freaked out by the fact that one of her potential classmates pulled a gun on her.

Yukari instantly became flustered. "I well….it's sort of a hobby…well…not really a hobby per se…it's just…"

"You know how things are these days" Mitsuru cut in. "It's for self-defense. Of course it's not real, it's just there to threaten people to back off. You know Arisato, you look exhausted. You should get some rest. Your room is the furthest on the third floor hallway. You're stuff arrived a few days ago and we've already placed it in your room. I suggest you get some rest. The new term does begin tomorrow."

Minako nodded and lifted her bag onto her shoulder feeling the exhaustion sinking in. She saw Mitsuru send Yukari another sharp look.

"Oh, I guess I'll show you the way" Yukari responded instantly.

Minako followed Yukari up a large pair of stairs to the third floor where the female dorms were kept.

"Well, this is it." Yukari said when she reached the end of the hall. "My room is two doors down." There was an awkward pause between the two young women. Yukari shifted uncomfortably on her toes "Um…I guess… If you need anything let me know. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah actually" Minako whispered. She was unsure about how to act around Yukari's apparent hostility toward her. " it's about that contract I signed. Is all of Gekkoukan's paperwork that cryptic?"

"What?" Yukari asked with a perplexed look. "What are you talking about?"

"I signed a contract upon arrival." Minako replied. "What was that all about?"

"You must be tired" Yukari said with a slight smile. "We don't have a contract to sign to live here. It's one of the few perks of living in this dorm in comparison to the normal dorms, very little rules to follow…but I'm not advocating any bad behavior you know." After another momentary pause Yukari whispered " Hey listen, when you walked over here did you see anything odd?"

Minako thought a moment. "See, no not really, but my MP3 player wouldn't work, and my watch was frozen on midnight."

Yukari giggled. "Wow that sounds like something out of a horror film. You honestly must be exhausted. Get some rest and we'll go over any questions you may have about school tomorrow okay?"

All Minako could find herself doing was nodding in agreement. The thought of a bed was very tempting at this moment, and all she wanted to do was fall into hers and sleep.

She waved good night to Yukari and closed the door behind her. Her room was barren and filled with boxes of her belongings that she had shipped weeks in advance. She tossed her bag on the floor and found the box labeled BED and pulled out the sheets. She made quick work of setting up her bed and no sooner had she laid her head on the pillows she found herself fast asleep.


End file.
